The Caretaker
The Caretaker is a major character in the Lukeboy and Trevorman Comics, and a supporting character in the L Comics. As one of the last remaining ninja, the Caretaker takes in young orphans and trains them in the art of Ninjutsu. After Spider Monkey's takeover of Chicago, the Caretaker trains children separated from their families to fight back against him. History Ninjutsu The Caretaker, who's real name is unknown, trained in Ninjutsu in Japan for all of his life. He moved to Chicago as an adult to spread the teachings to the United States, to keep the dying tradition alive. Among his earliest students was Chelsea Alastair, a problem child who did not wish to use Ninjutsu for good. She used it to fight criminals, which the Caretaker scolded her for. Chelsea later became the murderous Bobcat and ran off, becoming a cautionary legend for the Caretaker's future students. The Caretaker's later students included Trevor, Travis, Holly, and Ana. Despite being highly skilled, Ana was unable to graduate before Trevor and Travis. Trevor rejected the Caretaker's teachings and became Trevorman, a superhero vigilante. Holly dropped out to assist him and Travis in heroics. The Caretaker continued to train Ana, and later recruited Sean and Luke. Lukeboy Comics As Luke had no family to return to, he agreed to stay in the Caretaker's underground temple to train as Ana's protege. Criminal terrorist Spider Monkey started terrorizing the city, and Luke made it his purpose to take down the mad man. Luke developed the superhero persona, Lukeboy, and chased the terrorist down. After failing to capture him, Lukeboy had to be rescued by Ana. The Caretaker scolded Lukeboy for his actions, but decided that due to the severity of the situation, he would allow Lukeboy and Ana to continue with vigilante work, changing his age-old views for the first time. The Caretaker continued to train his students to fight Spider Monkey, eventually presenting Lukeboy with the L Mobile, a vehicle that Travis created during his time in the underground temple. The Caretaker kept in contact with Lukeboy during his adventures, often providing him insight and research. Soon, Trevorman, Travis, and Holly returned to the underground temple after Lukeboy's capture of Bobcat. They expressed wanting to give Ninjutsu another try, and the Caretaker agreed to let them in. However, after his murder of the Crooked Cook, Trevorman disappeared, and Travis left the temple. Later, a villain in Lukeboy's image, Anti-Luke, appeared to be working for Spider Monkey. He terrorized the town with Anti-Ana, killing most of the Caretaker's students and forcing the others to take shelter in the underground temple. The Caretaker convinced Lukeboy and Ana to battle their counterparts, and the ultimate battle ended in the deaths of Anti-Luke, Trevorman, and the supposed death of Spider Monkey. L Comics After Lukeboy's graduation, he became a new hero called L. Ana and Trouble Machine graduated alongside him. Soon, the Caretaker would take in a new student called Empress. After her graduation, she joined L's team of heroes. When one of the Caretaker's students was killed by a vigilante named Electrify, the Caretaker moved into L's base to assist him with his adventures against the Moniker and Spider Monkey. In Other Media Film The Caretaker appeared in the 2009 film, Lukeboy, based on the comics of the same name. Trivia *The Caretaker was loosely based on writer Lester Levi's old martial arts instructor. *The Caretaker, along with Officer Dillon, was one of three recurring characters to appear in Detective L Comics before being moved to Lukeboy Comics.